COD Modern Warfare 2 Has a Venomous Movement Problem

Every week it seems like there’s a new movement mechanic that everyone is talking about in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It could be G-walking, attempted slide canceling, or dolphin bounces, but there’s always something. This time though, there’s a more devious movement mechanic that has been lurking for a long time.

This has been lurking for so long, in fact, that most Call of Duty games eventually run into the problem in one way or another. Only this time, it’s more pronounced in Modern Warfare 2 and is borderline impossible to deal with. I’m talking about snaking, and this is a problem that could cause a headache across the entire community if it isn’t addressed soon.

Why is Snaking Just Becoming a Problem in COD Modern Warfare 2?

If snaking has been around for so long, even in MW2, why is it becoming a problem now? Well, like so many other hidden mechanics, most players are unaware of it until players start to abuse it. For the past couple of weeks, players in the Call of Duty League have been using the movement mechanic with great success. Of course, anyone on the receiving end was erased and quickly took to Twitter to point out the issue.

To understand the problem, it’s important to know why snaking is so difficult to deal with in MW2. The movement is essentially a player going prone and crouching incredibly fast while moving from side to side. Doing this behind low cover allows for a head glitch scenario that’s impossible to beat. Players snaking can scan the area, and if they are shot, they won’t take more than one bullet. It even works close quarters to delay death.

This is different than quickly ducking up and down. Snaking makes the player look, well, like a snake on the battlefield. They can’t be contested when they’re doing this and they get a nearly infinite vision in front of them with no downside. As more players figure out this movement, you’ll notice how much harder it is to push objectives. You could call this a skill issue, but do you really want to spend every match facing this, or spamming the same prone combo?

Related: What Happens Between Matches at the COD CDL Major II?

Some pros have taken to adding the abuse of snaking to the Gentleman’s Agreement list, which is why you won’t see it as much in pro matches. However, many players will continue to use it within public matches or third-party competitive play. Before Ranked Play arrives, the best bet is for Infinity Ward to add a limit to how many times you can crouch and prone within a three-second period. No one is moving like that unless they are snaking, so drop shots and proning would still be fine.

Of course, there are other methods to curb this kind of movement, and it has already been done to the sliding mechanic and the jumping mechanic, so why reward this one movement abuse? When there are plenty of clips of players shaking their heads as they watch their teammate snaking in the spectator cam for 30 seconds straight, we know there’s a problem. Hopefully, Season 2 brings an exterminator to the pests in Modern Warfare 2.

And that’s all. For more on the Call of Duty title, head over to our dedicated Modern Warfare 2 section full of guides, news, updates, and more.